Mary of Marion Isle

MARY OF MARION ISLE

seeds there were in a box among the stores, of which some, such as cabbage and turnips, grew so well that they had a fine supply of vegetables. It is only under such circumstances, he reflected, that one learns to appreciate the fundamental value of a garden.

Fish, too, were plentiful that year, so that they had an ample diet and dried more than they could possibly want during the winter. They laid up great numbers of eggs, made hay for the goats, and cheeses from their milk that were not a bad imitation of Gruyère. This was Andrew’s idea, for he had once stopped on a Swiss farm where they produced this kind of cheese, and remembered something of the method of its manufacture.

Thus it came about that they lacked for nothing, nor were likely to do so, while, owing to the saucepans and other tin vessels which Andrew procured from the hut, Mary was able to vary her cooking, and consequently their meals also. For example, now they ate their eggs boiled as well as roasted, and very excellent were those of the plover which swarmed upon the island.

At length harvest was over. Their skin sacks full of oats and beans were safely stored, undamaged by frost or wet; their seaweed for fuel was stacked; their dried fish was set away in piles, and everything was made ready for the winter. Most of the seals and sea-lions vanished mysteriously, whither they knew not; but this did not matter to them, since combats between those animals had been frequent that year and they had been able to skin as many as they wanted, also to obtain a suf-

311

H. RIDER HAGGARD

ficient quantity of oil and blubber. The birds, too, were going, except some sorts which wintered there.

Among the last to leave was the great black-winged albatross, which for some mornings in succession wheeled about the cave mouth.

«He always does that before he goes», said Mary. «He come to say good-bye to me his mother. Perhaps he have other friends far away in the world, or perhaps he sail about the sea till spring».

«Perhaps», said Andrew. Then idly enough he told her how it had occurred to him that this bird might be used as a messenger, if only there were something on which the message could be conveyed.

Mary thought, and pointed to a piece of tin, it was the lid of a biscuit box, and said:

«Might write on that».

«Great idea», said Andrew, and with the punch at the back of his knife he perforated the following words upon the tin:

«Lord Atterton, survivor Neptune, cast away on one of two islands some hundreds of miles north where Neptune sank. Atterton».

To this he added the date. Then he cut off all the superfluous tin so that only a piece remained about three inches square, or less, and bored two holes through the top, turning in the tin on both these and all round, so that its edges should not cut. Through these holes he passed twisted strings of strong knotted seal sinews, and all was ready.

312

MARY OF MARION ISLE

Next, Mary went to the albatross, which to her was as tame as a fowl, and fed it with fish, while Andrew, creeping up behind, slipped a skin bag over its head, whereon it became quite quiet, not struggling at all. After this, everything was easy. Between them, they tied the tin disk about the great bird’s neck, for extra security knotting the sinew cord over its back behind the wings, and doing all in such fashion that the tin could not impede it in flight, or in feeding, or be torn off by the great hooked beak, or, so far as they could judge, cause the bird inconvenience in any way. Then Andrew pulled the bag from its head and they both stepped back.

With an indignant scream, the albatross waddled along till its wings could get a bite of the air. It rose, wheeled once angrily about Mary’s head, then sailed away to the south and vanished.

Mary laughed.

«He very cross and would bite us if he dare. But that writing stop on him till he come back next spring».

«Perhaps he will never come back», said Andrew. «Perhaps some one will see the tin and shoot him».

«Oh!» replied Mary, «I never think of that».

«It seems to me», said Andrew with perturbation, «that there are several things we did not think of. For instance, the message may be read and some interfering people may send a ship and find us».

«Yes, Andrew», and she looked at him doubtfully, awaiting explanation.

«Well», he went on, «I don’t want to be found. Do you?»

313

H. RIDER HAGGARD

«No», answered Mary, in a very thoughtful voice, «for then p’raps they wish take you away».

«Then they would certainly take us both away».

«No, no», she exclaimed, «this Mary’s home. Who feed goats, who grow corn? We both stop here, always».

At this point all the horrible possibilities that might result from what they had done came home to her, and she began to look very disturbed indeed.

«Mary», said Andrew, «we have been fools. I thought that I ought to do this for your sake, at least I thought it once, and now I am not sure».

Then of a sudden she grew angry.

«For me, Andrew. Do I want to go away from here? Never, never. Here I live, here I die. I help you for your sake, because I see you want to go away and leave Mary, who tire you – what you call it – big bore, stupid, wild girl, wear nothing under skin coat ’cause got nothing to wear. Talk to birds and beasts and see ghosts. Oh! yes, mad, quite mad, only good swim, catch fish and cook for Andrew».

«I say, Mary», he broke in, «supposing you stop». «Why stop? Plenty more say, all same sort».

«Because I don’t like it; because it isn’t true; because such words make me unhappy».

«Mary make Andrew unhappy? Then glad make him unhappy – like that».

Next she looked up with a sudden radiance of the eyes that reminded him of sunlight breaking through a cloud, and asked innocently, «Andrew not want leave Mary? Andrew love Mary as much, as much as – pussy-cat Josky?»

314

MARY OF MARION ISLE

«Of course, and a great deal more. Josky is a selfish little beast», he added by way of explanation.

She nodded, though whether in acceptance of the first or second statement did not appear. Then she advanced her inquiries.

«Andrew love Mary as much as Mary love Andrew?» she asked, her with head on one side like a bird and looking at him.

«Of course, but that wouldn’t be much, would it?»

«Don’t know. P’raps Andrew know best. P’raps Andrew not understand what he say».

Again she returned to the charge in her insatiable search for information as to the exact extent of Andrew’s affection.

«Andrew love Mary as much as he love Mrs. Andrew, if she dead?»

«Oh! yes. You see, one can’t compare such things». «Compare», she repeated after him, then nodded, having

caught his sense, and went on, «Andrew love Mary as much as he love Mrs. Andrew, if she not dead?»

«I say, you mustn’t ask such questions», he gasped, turning scarlet through his tan.

She watched him narrowly, to all appearance not without some satisfaction.

«All right», she said, bursting into one of her merry fits of laughing, «Mary not ask any more. What good ask when Mary know. Mary not cross now, see», and promptly in her childish fashion she held up her face to be kissed.

Andrew nearly burst in two, or so it seemed to him, and it was with very great physical difficulty that he kept his arms

315

H. RIDER HAGGARD

straight down by his side, for they seemed to have a natural tendency towards Mary’s gracious form. But to his credit, be it said, he did it somehow and then rushed off and indulged in an hour’s hard manual labour, which Mary told him afterwards was quite unnecessary, since he had only done things that he should have left undone. When he returned, she said:

«If the albatross come back, I catch him and cut that plate off his neck».

«So will I», said Andrew, «but it is too much to hope». «Long time before he get anywhere, perhaps he pull off

plate, or perhaps no one see it. Yes, yes, long time, make most of time», she said by way of consolation.

«It can’t be too long», groaned Andrew. «I hope that blessed bird will eat the tin and choke itself».

«That not kind. Andrew and Mary ought to eat tin, half each, because they both silly and do what they no want do. Why Andrew write his name At – ter-ton on plate?»

«Oh! because people call me that».

«Why call Andrew that?» she pursued remorselessly. «Oh! because I am a peer».

«Peer? What a peer?»

«Peers», said Andrew, «are people who, or whose relations, have acquired or inherited something that makes silly fools think them bigger than other men; because they are called ‘my lord’ and are richer than most of them. You will find lots of them in Whitaker’s Almanack».

Mary considered all this, then asked: «Are you rich, my lord?»

316

CHAPTER XXI

FLIGHT

The winter came, a terrible winter with dark and rushing clouds, and gales and snow, with little sun. Still, this pair took little account of it. The main difference to them was that they sat by the fire inside the cave instead of by the fire outside, with a curtain they had made of the sailcloth from Andrew’s boat, eked out with skins, drawn across the entrance to the recess in which this inner fire burned. Out of doors in that weather there was little to be done, though on fine days certain great penguins which Mary had reared, that never seemed to leave the island, flew out to sea to fish. Moreover, they did not always fish for themselves, since Mary tied bands of sinew round their throats so that they could not swallow their prey. Therefore they brought it home to her, knowing that they would be rewarded with the heads and offal. Thus fresh fish was seldom lacking to them, and with their porridge, oatcake, preserved eggs, etc., and a certain amount of milk, they got on very well indeed and kept in splendid health.

Still, the season with so much ice about, for the sea was full of floes and great bergs floated down the Race between the islands, was long, cold and dreary. What then, reflected Andrew, must it have been during past years for this girl in her

318

MARY OF MARION ISLE

utter loneliness? No wonder that she saw ghosts and thought that she conversed with spirits. The marvel was that she had not gone mad.

Mary, however, was anything but mad, as Andrew soon discovered when, taking advantage of their ample leisure, he began her education in earnest. Never was there so apt a pupil. With the help of the old Whitaker’s Almanack and the Churchservice that had belonged to Jacks, soon he taught her to read perfectly; also to write. Then with the Whitaker for a textbook, he lectured to her upon all the countries of the earth, so far as his information went, especially upon the few that he had visited, such as Egypt and South Africa, which interested her very much indeed, particularly Egypt, with its history of ancient things.

There she would sit by the fire, wrapped in her skin cloak down which her long hair fell in glittering streaks, her arms about her knees and her great intelligent eyes fixed earnestly upon his face, while he talked and talked, and occasionally she interrupted with her shrewd questions. There was scarcely a subject in the sky above or the earth beneath or the waters under the earth of which he did not discourse during those long months, nor did Mary ever grow tired of listening to him as he sat there upon a stone, his back resting against the wall of the cave and a pipe, generally out, in his hand, and held forth to his class of one with Josky curled up asleep between them.

On medicine he was particularly eloquent, since that and scientific research were his trade, although his remarks induced her to ask at length why people were ill.

319

H. RIDER HAGGARD

«Mary», she exclaimed, «never ill!»

«Nor would the rest of the world be if they lived like Mary», answered Andrew, «and their ancestors before them had done the same. I have never been ill since I came to this island although the climate is so horrid».

«Why does God make people ill?» asked Mary, a question to which he could return no satisfactory answer.

Thus they drifted off to the matter of religion, also into social questions. The subject of matrimony attracted Mary’s attention, and proved difficult to deal with.

Why did people marry? Why did men have only one wife now when in the Bible they had so many, and why did the Turks have more than one wife, were some of the posers she put to him with which he fenced as best he could, drawing analogies from the wild life about them.

So the winter months wore away and before they were gone Mary could talk perfectly well, although she still used queer idioms and abbreviations, and for a long while retained the habit of speaking of herself and Andrew by name in the third person. It was always «Mary will do so and so». Further, she had learned a great deal and was now quite as well-informed as are the majority of young women, except, of course, on current topics which did not exist for them who lived in a little world of their own. History repeated itself, too, for like Eve before her, with the advent of knowledge she became dissatisfied with her garments and tried to manufacture herself some underclothing, a matter on which, to his intense embarrassment, she insisted upon consulting Andrew. These articles she put together out of the softest skins; also she cut down some

320